


Bewitched

by ohlookaperson



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Drama & Romance, M/M, Power Dynamics, Pre-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-18
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-05-24 22:02:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14962994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohlookaperson/pseuds/ohlookaperson
Summary: Centuries ago, werewolves and witches were mortal enemies. One witch sacrificed her life to cast a curse upon all werewolves and their descendants, cursing all werewolves to serve witches. Now, Witches rarely have any power aside from the ability to keep Wolves' monstrous side in check. As Zoro's Witch, Sanji is determined to not let their bond interfere with Zoro's dream of becoming the world's greatest swordsman. The rest of the world, unfortunately, doesn't seem to like that plan.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ANYTHING IS SLOWBURN IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH EXPOSITION

Sanji took a moment to watch Zoro train. The bond between Wolf and Witch was fairly one-sided: Zoro could feel every emotion Sanji felt, with Sanji’s emotional turmoil even manifesting as Zoro’s physical pain, but Sanji could only guess at Zoro’s thoughts. The legend the both of them has grown up with was that Wolves were cursed to serve Witches, but neither of them particularly cared about that. Their connection kept Zoro’s canine side in check, and that was the only thing that mattered.

 

Sanji, not for the first time, wished that the bond was more equitable. What did Zoro feel when he trained? His face was a tight scowl of concentration. Was he calm? Angry? Did he think about Kuina and his past, or did he think about Mihawk, and all the other swordsmen he had yet to defeat? Was he serene inside, contrary to his tight expression?

 

Well, the easiest way to tell what Zoro was thinking was to ask. “If you keep your face that way for too long it's going to freeze that way.”

 

Zoro turned his impressive scowl towards Sanji. “Yeah? Then what did you do to fuck up your eyebrows?”

 

Sanji gasped in indignation. “My eyebrows are a beautiful product of nature!”

 

Zoro’s scowl turned into a snarky grin. “So is shit.” He quickly ducked Sanji’s well aimed kick, darting forward to snatch the plate of food Sanji was carrying.

 

“Hell no, you can starve!” Sanji snapped. He held the plate out of Zoro’s reach, kicking at him to keep him away. “Go photosynthesize, like the marimo you are!”

 

“Bullshit! I'm hungry, feed me!” Zoro made another lunge for the plate, grabbing Sanji’s oncoming leg and using it to pull the cook forward and finally snatch the food.

 

Lemon seared chicken, with a vegetable medley and side of rice. A perfect post-workout meal, high in protein, carbs, and vitamins. Sanji couldn’t help but smile at the pure delight on Zoro’s face at the sight of the meal. Feeding others, invoking and then satiating appetite: these were the things he lived for as a chef.

 

“Don’t forget to take your things back to the kitchen once you’re done,” Sanji warned him.

 

“I never forget,” Zoro retorted around a mouthful of food. “Luffy’s the one that leaves things everywhere.”

 

Sanji waved it off. “Just don’t forget.”

* * *

Sanji rolled out the kinks in his neck. Dinner was (as always) a resounding success, but now came the daunting part: cleaning up. He had forgotten none of his time at Baratie and skillfully whisked away empty plates and platters as they became clear, but the resulting tower in the sink was often daunting.

 

To his surprise, however, Zoro was already in the kitchen. “Damn.” He let out a low whistle. “No wonder you always get depressed after dinner.”

 

“I do not!” Sanji protested, embarrassment flooding his cheeks. He was the crew cook; meal time was  _ his _ job, messes and all. But they both knew that it was no use lying to Zoro. It was true: after the high energy hustle and bustle of dinner, washing dishes alone was a sharp contrast and it was easy for his mood to drop. He hadn’t realized it was strong enough to effect Zoro as well--he was going to have to make sure to keep his spirits up during clean up.

 

“You don’t have to baby me,” Sanji snapped. He wasn’t the kind of Witch that would use a Wolf as his slave. It was a common practice, and one he despised. The only reason they even had a bond was to keep Zoro fully human. He wasn’t going to go and throw himself a pity party every time he didn’t feel like doing something. He wasn’t like that. He made  _ sure _ he wasn’t like that.

 

Zoro only rolled his eyes. “Don’t get it twisted, curly brows. I’m not doing this because I’m  _ compelled _ to, or whatever. I’m feeling generous. Don’t waste it.”

 

“Fine, fine. I’ll wash, you dry.” Sanji waved it off with a theatrical flick of his wrist, but...he appreciated it. Zoro had noticed that washing dishes alone often made his spirits drop and he wanted to do something about it. That...felt nice.

 

Not nice enough to exploit, he reminded himself sharply. But...nice enough to appreciate.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy everybody I'm going on a trip soon so you get an early present! It's not much but pls enjoy

The seaside port town of Lithia was cute. The houses were white, almost sticking out of the cliff sides, with blue roofs and pavement lining the streets. The whole crew quickly agreed that Zoro and Sanji should go and explore the town first and replenish the ship’s quickly dwindling food supply.

 

Unfortunately, thanks to Zoro’s poor sense of direction and Sanji’s constant distraction of the beautiful ladies of Lithia, they were a bit...lost.

 

“I’m telling you, it’s this way!” Zoro snapped. “You missed it because you were busy chasing down that girl with the flowers and I had to chase you!”

 

“If you think it’s that way, it only means it’s any way  _ except _ that way!” Sanji retorted angrily. “And I wasn’t  _ chasing her down _ , I was asking her a question about her very beautiful and fragrant flowers!”

 

A high pitched giggle interrupted them.

 

“Shut up!” Zoro snapped, and Sanji smacked the back of his head in response.

 

“Don’t speak to a lady like that!” Sanji reprimanded.

 

“I’ll do whatever I damn well please, curly brow!” Zoro scowled. It was bad enough trying to wrangle Sanji into actually  _ going _ shopping; he didn’t need him defending the honor of this strange lady with a parasol.

 

“You will--” Sanji’s argument died in his throat. It was a gorgeous woman watching their argument with amusement; a gorgeous woman with a flowing dress and a delicate parasol and a  _ Wolf. _ A full wolf, sitting obediently next to her without so much as a collar or leash.

 

“You seem to have one badly behaved doggy,” the woman giggled.

 

Zoro only rolled his eyes. Traditional Witches like her were everywhere. He didn’t have the time or energy to waste on them. “Fuck off,” he told her. Or he would have, if he hadn’t been hit with the sudden wave of  _ rage _ that Sanji felt. It consumed him like a fire, heating him up from inside. He bit his tongue to hold back the growl growing in his throat.

 

“How  _ dare _ you?” Sanji growled. “Zoro is a  _ person _ , you--you  _ awful human _ .” Sanji didn’t swear at women. He didn’t hit women. He was raised a gentleman. But Zoro could see his fists clenching. He was getting pretty goddamn close. “He’s going to be the greatest swordsman in the world and if you  _ ever _ refer to him like that again he’s going to cut off your goddamn head.”

 

“My, my.” The woman didn’t seem at all perturbed by Sanji’s outrage. “There’s no need to be unpleasant--”

 

“ _ Yes _ , there very much  _ is _ ,” Sanji snarled.

 

Zoro grabbed his shoulder. “Leave it,” he ground out through gritted teeth. “Let’s go.”

 

Sanji was about to protest, but instead he let Zoro lead him away. They walked silently for a bit, wandering until they were thoroughly lost, until Sanji finally managed to calm himself down.

 

“She was  _ awful _ ,” Sanji growled.

 

“Yeah.” Zoro didn’t seem too shaken by it, even after seeing a fully descended Wolf. Some Witches didn’t care at all for their Wolf counterparts and erased their humanity completely, until only their wolf forms remained. It was a risk entirely too well known among Wolves. Zoro himself had been close to losing his humanity: any Wolf not pledged to a Witch by adulthood usually completely descended to an uncontrollable wolf, no trace of sentience left. Zoro had managed on his own for far longer than any Wolf should have been able to: it was only due to his trust in Sanji that he was pledged to a Witch at all.

 

It was a horrifying time. Sanji remembered Zoro struggling with himself, his hair growing and receding, his teeth elongating and sharpening into fangs and then morphing back to human size, Zoro howling and moaning in pain with the constant struggle against the curse of being a Wolf.

 

“Hey.” Zoro bumped Sanji’s shoulder with his own. “I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but drop it. It’s not your problem. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“It is my problem!” Sanji couldn’t believe how easily Zoro seemed to brush this aside. “ _ That’s _ how she sees Wolves? All of them?” And the question he couldn’t voice:  _ Are  _ all  _ Witches like this _ ?

 

“Look at me.” Zoro stared Sanji down with a steely gaze. “You can’t control other people. You understand? You can’t change other people, you can’t control the rest of the world. You control  _ you _ .” 

 

The unspoken answer: You’re _ not like that _ .

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real drama begins! The good news is that as this story grows longer, so do its chapters >:3 The next few chapters should be longer and hopefully filled with twice as much gay, magic, and bullshit. Thanks for stopping by, come back next week for chapter 3!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argh, I'm sorry this is so late everybody! I've been having a blast in Sweden and unfortunately not keeping up with writing. Rest assured, next week will happen on schedule!!

Sanji took a long drag of his cigarette. He had offered to stay aboard and watch the ship while the others explored the city. Food was put away, dinner was prepped and ready to be cooked, and now he had the rest of the day to himself.

 

He was quickly beginning to regret his decision. He had expected Zoro to stay on the ship as well--usually, nothing really interested Zoro aside from the blacksmith (which Lithia lacked). Normally he wasn’t such a giant _wuss_ about being by himself. He wasn’t a particularly anxious person. But it was harder and harder to keep his thoughts calm and level. He couldn’t get that Witch out of his mind.

 

He _wasn’t_ going to bother Zoro about this. He _wasn’t_ . If anything, Zoro was the one who should be upset about it, not Sanji. It wasn’t like Sanji could even _do_ anything about it. Wolves and Witches went back centuries--it was an ancient curse that not even the strongest Witches could lift. Not that many had tried, of course, but some _had_. The titles were more ceremonial than anything now: Witches rarely had any actual magical ability. Sanji himself was unable to control or wield magic in any form.

 

In other words, he was useless. Even Zoro had better control over managing their connection than he did. He took another drag. _‘Calm down. We’re not getting angry about this, Sanji. Relax.’_

 

He breezed back into the kitchen. Perhaps he could occupy his mind with something. He had already done inventory on all of their food stores; everything perishable was carefully packed away, Zoro’s sake stash was refilled. Tonight’s meal--chicken curry--was ready to be cooked. Rice was already steaming, the vegetables were already chopped, the chicken cubed.

 

Okay, so maybe he had been a little too overzealous in applying himself earlier. There still had to be _something_. He needed to get his act together and think about something else. What else could he work on? Meal planning? Dessert! He could make dessert.

 

They would still be in port for a while. Sanji could splurge on some angel food cake. The girls would love it, and beating all those egg whites would surely take a while. The yolks he would save for another time--he would figure out _something_ to do with them.

 

Sanji began to hum to himself as he gathered the eggs. On the Baratie they had often sung sea shanties together in the back, loud rousing songs encouraging everyone to keep up a fast rhythm. He still kept the habit of singing to himself as he cooked, even if he was in no real hurry. He stubbed out his cigarette in the sink and washed his hands. This was good. He could concentrate on this.

 

Sanji cracked open an egg and carefully dropped the yolk back and forth between the two egg shells, letting the whites drop into a bowl. Rinse and repeat for about a dozen eggs, store the yolks in a separate bowl for later use. Almost without being aware of it, a song bubbled up from his chest, setting the pace of his working. A kitchen in harmony was like a dance; many different things needed to happen at once, and so much of cooking was understanding how to multitask. Or maybe that was just at the Baratie? It was always busy there, and if nothing else, it made Sanji an efficient chef. His experience certainly was put to the test with Luffy’s crew: few of them were gourmands, of course, but they could _eat_. How long would this cake even last? He would have to be sure to serve it in slices to ensure that everyone got enough.

 

Everyone. Sanji paused. Zoro didn’t particularly like sweets. The cake by itself wouldn’t be _that_ sweet, and if there were something to balance out the rich sweetness of the cream topping, even Zoro would enjoy it--probably. Sanji continued beating the egg whites (foaming, but not quite the thickness he needed them to be) while he searched for the perfect ingredient to add. He knew he had some _somewhere_ , he made sure to keep some on hand for tea--ah. There it was. Setting down the bowl for a moment, Sanji dug out a bag of green tea powder. The powder itself was bitter and unpalatable, but if he dusted Zoro’s cake with some, even _he_ would enjoy Sanji’s cake.

 

“Hey, cook. I’m hungry.”

 

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Sanji flinched hard in surprise, the bag of powder in his hands flying up towards the ceiling. He juggled it for a few minutes, his hands brushing the bag but sending it flying in another direction instead of holding onto it before he finally caught it. “Don’t sneak up on people!” Sanji snapped.

 

Zoro raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been standing here for the past thirty minutes. You’re the one not paying attention to their surroundings.”

 

Sanji’s face flushed. Was Zoro just--watching him cook? Listening to him sing? “Don’t spy on people!” he snapped instead, shoving the green tea powder back into the cupboard. He could eat sweet tasting cake like the rest of the crew, Sanji wasn’t going to give him any special treatment!

 

Zoro snorted in derision. “As if you do anything interesting enough to spy on. Here.” He tossed Sanji a package, and thankfully Sanji caught it without any issues. Without another word, Zoro yawned, stretching out his arms. “I’m gonna take a nap.”

 

“What--hey, don’t just walk away from me, idiot! Are you hungry or not?” Sanji shouted after him, but Zoro didn’t turn back. Asshole. Sanji took a closer look at the package Zoro had brought him. He had to stare at it for a moment before he understood what he was looking at.

 

Rubber gloves. Heat resistant, moss green, long enough to cover all the way up to his elbows. At Baratie Sanji had gotten used to doing the dishes bare handed--as much as the cooks all cared for their hands, being used to the heat of the water and the frequent oil splashes was equally important. Shaky, unsteady hands were the mark of amateurs. The only risk cooks ever took with their hands was cooking itself.

 

Dumbass swordsman. Sanji put the gloves away, trying to ignore the glowing feeling in his chest. Maybe he would add the green tea powder to Zoro’s cake after all.

* * *

Zoro woke with a start. His chest _hurt_ \--a tight, clenching pain, making it hard to breathe. He bit back a growl, shaking his head to keep his thoughts clear. The sky was dark--it was the middle of the night. He took several deep breaths. He couldn’t help Sanji with--probably, a nightmare? If he couldn’t even think straight.

 

His head hurt. It was painful pushing down the instinct to just change and burst in, barking his goddamn head off--but that wasn’t who he fucking was. He was Roronoa goddamn Zoro, not a dog. He made his way over to Sanji, blindly groping around in the dark until he found the hammock the cook was sleeping in. He shook Sanji’s shoulder roughly. “Hey, curly brows. Wake up, asshole.”

 

Sanji’s mood didn’t improve upon waking. Zoro grimaced at the feeling of his confusion, manifesting itself as a friendly little headache. “It’s me. You’re fine.”

 

Sanji’s breathing was still ragged and uneven. Zoro clambered into the hammock with him, pulling him in close. “Breathe,” he ordered.

 

Sanji’s hands grabbed him tightly, and Zoro could feel his shirt getting wet. Tears. He held Sanji tighter to himself. What was Sanji dreaming about? Considering his behavior--that Witch in town, the special dessert just for Zoro, it was probably about Zoro descending into a Wolf. That damn idiot. He was so eager to blame himself for everything. “It’s fine. Whatever you were dreaming about, it’s not real.”

 

It was real to him, though. Zoro could tell. Seeing that Witch and Wolf had really shaken Sanji. He could feel the waves of unease rising and falling over Sanji the whole day--he could tell with each rise and fall of unrest that Sanji was trying to put it out of his mind for his sake, but it wasn’t until Zoro could see him with his own eyes that he was fine, singing to himself and...at home, where he belonged. The reassurance mingled with Sanji’s own absent minded bliss was a heady mixture, and he had been more than content to lean against the doorframe of the kitchen, watching Sanji work.

 

The tightness in his chest was easing, and his headache faded. Finally. Sanji’s breathing had evened out, and Zoro prepared himself for the coming onslaught of emotion. The easing of fear giving way to relief, and then the nausea of guilt making his stomach roil--Sanji felt guilty that Zoro had had to comfort him, how he always felt whenever he had a powerful wave of emotion and hadn’t clamped down on it properly.

 

“Stop that,” Zoro ordered. Wrong wording. The guilt only increased--of course Sanji knew what his guilt was doing to Zoro, how dare he feel guilty about this--Zoro was going to be sick. He took several sharp breaths in, steadying himself. “Just relax. You’re fine. _I’m_ fine.” There it was--his stomach settled, and Zoro sighed in relief. “You worry too much.”

 

Sanji ignored the barb, only tightening his grip around Zoro. Of course he didn’t think it was _too_ much--that was just how he was, the idiot. Everyone’s problems were his problems. He needed to be able to take care of everything. He probably felt guilty that he hadn’t figured out how to create world peace.

 

“You should focus on yourself more.” Zoro clicked his tongue in disapproval. “I’m not so weak that I need you constantly worrying about me.”

 

“Yeah? You’d get lost without me.” There he was, finally taking the bait. Zoro grinned. This was the Sanji he had Pledged himself to. This was the Sanji he respected. No bullshit, assertive. He hated how apologetic Sanji always felt after something like this happened. It _happened_ , just like eating or sleeping or drinking. He had never once asked Sanji for this kind of high standard, and without even a second thought Sanji had applied it to himself. His selflessness was going to be the death of him.

 

“Yeah, yeah. Go to sleep.”

 

Things would be better in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this author has a major case of "I confused fanon with canon" syndrome may her suffering one day end


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about all the formatting problems everyone. AO3 has been putting extra spaces around all my italics, and the only way I can figure out how to fix it is to manually go back and delete them. @~@ If anyone has any advice that'd be great! If not, just enjoy the read ;w;

His hammock was comfy. Was it always this cozy? Zoro decided not to question it, instead nuzzling closer to--

 

Oh.

 

No wonder he had a warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest. Sanji was asleep in his arms--probably having a great dream, by the feel of it. Stupid curse. He missed the times when his feelings were his own; no magically induced guilt, no secondhand euphoria. It was better than the mind numbing pain of his Descent, of course; attempting to resist the curse and remain unbonded to a Witch resulted in constant, blinding pain. He still had never encountered any pain worse. Still, he hated constantly having to manage his own feelings and figuring out who was feeling what. He never  _just_  felt happy anymore--he always made sure it was  _him_ , Zoro, feeling happy,  _is this me? Is this myself_? It was tiring.

 

To his credit, Sanji always did his best to try and regulate things from his side. The first few days were the hardest, when he had felt Sanji’s emotions and didn’t know how to differentiate them from his own. He was used to it now--Sanji’s feelings had felt different than the Descent had, of course, but now he was usually able to tell when he was having feelings thrust upon him instead of feeling them for himself. Zoro grimaced, remembering the first few times Sanji had gotten upset and the immediate wave of guilt that only made things worse.

 

They had both gotten better at managing, he supposed. Zoro carefully untangled himself from Sanji, taking care not to wake him. The times when Sanji was asleep and Zoro was awake were the times that Zoro most felt free--unless Sanji was having particularly vivid dreams, usually nothing would come across their connection to him.

 

Besides. If Sanji woke up he might want to talk about that Witch, and Zoro didn’t particularly look forward to having to explain to Sanji that this was just how life  _was_  for Wolves. The horror, the shame, the  _guilt_ \--none of it was going to be pleasant, for either of them.

 

Zoro took one last look at Sanji’s sleeping face. His heart felt like it was melting, his hands ached to reach out and stroke his cheek. Dumbass curse. As if this wasn’t complicated enough.

 

Whatever. He was going to make the most of Sanji’s sleeping in as he could. He stretched his arms over his head, enjoying the feeling of moving again after spending so long asleep and still.

 

Or not.

 

“Get lost,” Zoro snapped.

 

The Witch only clicked her tongue. It was the same one as before--a different dress, this one sloping off one shoulder and hugging her body. Sanji would like that. Her parasol was the same, and so was the Wolf. He must have tracked them down by their scent. Great. “Such impudence. I don’t see why he bothers keeping you.”

 

“Yeah, well, it’s none of your business.” Zoro eyed the Witch. Sanji wouldn’t like it if he killed her, probably--but fuck Sanji, fuck what he wanted or what he thought. He was his own person. Fighting someone unarmed was a coward’s move, though, Wolf or no.

 

Zoro felt sorry for the poor son of a bitch. He had loved his Witch, wholeheartedly, was completely and totally devoted to her, and that was his reward. She didn’t give a shit about what happened to him and treated him like a pet. Zoro would rather die than stoop so low. He wasn’t like other Wolves: he was Roronoa Zoro, and he was going to be the world’s strongest swordsman if it fucking killed him.

 

The Witch let out a dramatic sigh. “Honestly. Does your Witch know  _nothing_  of the past? Why does he think you Wolves are tied to us Witches?” She pointed at Zoro. “ _Bad_.”

 

The pain was incredible. It felt like a nail being driven into his skull. Before he could stop himself, he let out a short cry of pain and collapsed, his hands clutching his head. He had only felt pain like this once before--there was no way--

 

“Do you understand now?” the Witch demanded. “I’m a descendant of the Witch that cast the curse on all Wolves. I won’t let history repeat itself. You Wolves will serve Witches for as long as there is magic in the world.”

 

Zoro could feel his fangs growing in. Hell no.

 

“Zoro?! What the hell did you do to him?!”

 

Sanji. The wave of shock, fear--the urge to _protect_ \--it was enough to wash over the other Witch's  magic, and Zoro took a deep breath and forced himself back upright. Zoro was strong. He wasn’t  _weak_. He wouldn’t be succumbing to any bullshit curses--not today, and not ever. The strongest swordsman in the world wouldn’t be stopped by some bullshit migraine, and neither would he.

 

The Witch only smiled at Sanji. Zoro was getting tired at looking at her face and her smug expressions. “Does it bother you, Witch? Then stop me.”

 

“Don’t,” Zoro interrupted. He took deep, even breaths. Sanji, he could understand. Sanji, he could control. “Don’t interfere.”

 

This wasn’t Sanji’s fight. If Zoro could defeat this Witch, then maybe he could defeat this curse. Besides--Sanji didn’t have magic, and he didn’t hit women. There was nothing he could do. Zoro unwrapped his bandana from around his arm and tied it around his head. This was going to be one hell of a fight, with him struggling against Witch magic and a mindless Wolf.

 

“Stay _down_!” The pain was back, searing and demanding, but this time Zoro was ready for it. This was just a little pain. This would just make his grip on his swords tighter. He placed Wado in his mouth.

 

The other Wolf finally stood, a soft growl rising out of his throat. Zoro knew better than anyone that the Wolf would die before he allowed any harm to come to his Witch. It was unpleasant, but if he wanted to defeat the Witch, he’d have to take out the Wolf first.

 

“Woofington, show him how a _real_ Wolf acts,” the Witch commanded. Zoro could feel the small spike of panic from Sanji--he would be insulted if it didn’t help cut through the fog of the pain of the Witch curse. Descendant, huh? Apparently her magic still wasn’t stronger than the original curse. Well, whatever. Zoro only concentrated on the Wolf bounding towards him, sharp teeth and not a trace of the obedient pet from before.

 

Zoro caught the Wolf’s jaw with the back of one sword, slamming the hilt of another sword into the Wolf’s stomach with a harsh sounding  _crack_ . He had probably broken a few bones. The Wolf tumbled backwards, but got up again anyway. No amount of pain would ever convince a Wolf to disobey their Witch, especially not when he was as brainless as this.  _Woofington_. Zoro grimaced in disgust. That was no doubt a new name he had been given. Disgusting. It wasn't even a good one.

 

The Wolf growled, this time eyeing Zoro more carefully. He wasn’t stupid enough to try another head on attack. This time the Wolf watched Zoro, his tail swishing slowly from side to side. Neither of them moved to circle the other: more important than  _their_  fight was their Witches, and circling each other left their Witches open to attack.

 

Zoro knew that Sanji could hold his own against the Wolf, but. Zoro knew how much it  _hurt_  to have your Witch attacked. He didn’t fight dirty, and he figured the Wolf didn’t either. They stood and stared at each other, neither of them taking the first step. The Wolf couldn’t find any openings: Zoro had none. And, as much  _brains_  as Zoro had, he didn’t want to be the one to strike the first blow, as it were. The Wolf hadn’t asked for this fight. The Wolf wouldn’t be in this fight if it weren’t for  _her_.

 

“Ugh. I need to help you with  _everything_ , don’t I?” Mizuki rolled her eyes and pointed at the Wolf, who hung his head in shame. “ _Disappear_.”

 

And he did. Not so much as a flicker or flash, the Wolf was simply... _gone._

 

Not gone. A moment too late, Zoro brought his swords up to defend himself, but not before the Wolf had gotten a large bite out of his shoulder. Fuck. Even worse was the  _worry_  he could feel from Sanji. He wasn’t a child. So what, he got a little flesh wound. At the very least, he had the Wolf where he wanted him, invisible or not. He slammed both sword hilts down onto the Wolf’s head, directly over the bite mark. It dug the Wolf’s fangs deeper into his shoulder, but then the pressure from the bottom jaw was gone.

 

He’d gotten the Wolf to pass out. Good. Zoro grabbed the Wolf by what he assumed was the scruff and tossed him off his shoulder, onto the ground. The Witch's knuckles were white from gripping the parasol. Zoro lurched toward her, and she took a nervous step back.

 

“ _Bad_!” She tried again, but he didn’t falter. Her pointing finger started to tremble. She retreated, faster now, the color draining fast from her face.

 

“Don’t--don’t come any closer!” The Witch's arm dropped, and now she was gripping her parasol with both hands. If her Wolf were still awake he would be howling with the agony of her fear. Her foot caught against the floor and she tumbled down, too frozen with fear to try and get back up again. Zoro continued towards her, each step careful, filled with purpose. 

 

Zoro didn’t stop until he was right on top of her, blocking out the sun from her terrified face. “My name is Roronoa Zoro,” he growled around his sword. “And I’m going to be the world’s strongest swordsman. No amount of Witch magic, or ancient curses, or Wolf instincts are going to stop me from reaching my goal. Understand?”

 

The Witch frantically bobbed her head. Roronoa Zoro, the pirate hunter. The stories of him being a demon were not at all an exaggeration.

 

Zoro sheathed his swords, and rolled out his neck, wincing at his shoulder injury. “Good. And the least you can do is call your Wolf by his real name. It’s bad enough that we’re forced to love you. At least acknowledge his feelings.” He kept his voice low. Sanji didn't appear to know about this part of the curse, and Zoro wasn't about to tell him.

 

The Witch blinked up at him. “You...what?”

 

“You heard me!” Zoro’s face flushed. “I’m not repeating myself.” It was hard enough admitting to  _himself_  that he liked the blond idiot, he didn’t need to be broadcasting it around for everyone  _else_  to know. He glanced over his shoulder--Sanji hadn’t heard, he was busy stroking what Zoro assumed was the invisible Wolf.

 

“The curse doesn’t do that,” the Witch told him flatly. “It does a lot of things, but...not that.” When she realized Zoro wasn't going to hurt her, she wobbled back up to her feet. Her fear was gone now, replaced by a smile. Not the playful, gleefully sadistic ones from before, either: a genuine smile. She was actually a halfway decent looking lady when she genuinely smiled. “You fell in love with him all on your own.”

 

“Shut up!” Zoro’s ears burned. This wasn’t the kind of conversation he had wanted to have. “Take your Wolf and go home!” He stomped back over to Sanji, searching for where the Wolf’s body was. “Hurry up and wake up,” he commanded the invisible lump of fluff.

 

It appeared again, making both Sanji and Zoro start. But it was only the Witch, taking off the invisibility spell.

 

“I understand now,” she said, as if  _that_  meant anything, and then pointed to her Wolf. “ _Lift_.” He raised up and followed behind her, as though carried on an invisible platform. “You’d best keep him happy. You know what happens if you don’t!” With a giggle and a wave, the Witch jauntily soared off their ship with a jump with too much lift to be entirely natural.

 

Sanji raised a curly eyebrow at him. “What did _that_  mean?”

 

“Hell if I know,” Zoro snapped.

 

Oh, he knew. But damn him straight to all the hells that existed if he was ever going to tell  _Sanji_  what she meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I couldn't figure out how to manage in a cameo for the Witch. Ya girl has awful memory RIP
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Tune in again next week!


	5. Chapter 5

_‘You liiiiiiiiiike him_ ,’ the voice in his head teased. It was like a goddamn three year old, immature taunts and all. Zoro growled and swung his weights harder. “Shut _up_.”

 

“How rude. I haven’t even said anything yet.” Sanji smirked at him, holding a fresh plate of something that steamed and smelled _delicious_. Zoro’s stomach rumbled loudly.

 

“I wasn’t talking to you.” Zoro stared resolutely at his weights, resisting the urge to simply drop everything and--and _what_? Snuggle up to him? Coo at him? What was he, twelve? Zoro tried to force down the flush on his face through sheer willpower alone.

 

It wasn’t working. Sanji spotted his red ears and snickered. “Come now, out with it. What matter so greatly perturbs your heart, my good man?”

 

“Don’t talk flowery to me,” Zoro snapped. “I don’t have time for that bullshit.” He set the weights down and held out his hand for the plate.

 

But of course, this was _Sanji_. Nothing was ever straightforward and easy with him. He held the plate away from Zoro with a smirk. “Penny for your thoughts, marimo. Tell me what’s bothering you and I’ll feed you.”

 

Zoro growled, his blush returning in full force. Tell Sanji? Like hell. “It’s none of your business, curly brows.” He crossed his arms. “I’d rather starve.”

 

Sanji blew a raspberry at him. “Be that way.” He still handed over the plate, although Zoro eyed him warily before snatching it out of his hands. A steak, no doubt perfectly seasoned and lightly seared, tender enough to melt. Zoro’s mouth filled with drool.

 

He swallowed quickly and began to scarf down his food. Next to him, Sanji scoffed.

 

“You’d rather starve, huh?”

 

“Shut up,” Zoro mumbled around a mouthful of steak. He grinned at Sanji’s instant recoil of disgust. He felt the familiar ire of an argument, before Sanji took a deep breath and shook his head.

 

Weird. Zoro frowned at Sanji. Normally the cook loved any excuse to start a fight, and this was certainly not the pettiest or most ridiculous reason they had ever started fighting. Sanji pulled out a cigarette and lit it, and suddenly Zoro was hit with _concern_ , so tender and real that he had to choke down the food in his mouth before he started bawling.

 

“This shit doesn’t go both ways,” Sanji grumbled, and the overwhelming feeling was gone, replaced with just a small trickle. “I don’t know if you’re hurting, or upset. Let me take care of you too, sometimes.”

 

Zoro pointed at his plate with his fork. “And what do you call this?”

 

Sanji smacked Zoro’s arm. “Doing my job, you ass!” There was the familiar feeling of ire. Zoro laughed, despite everything. Sanji was trying to have a goddamn _heart to heart_ with him, and he was making _jokes_. This was hard for him, too!

 

“You don’t think that’s enough?” Zoro’s tone was flippant, but the question was genuine. Doing his job as a member of the crew--that was all Zoro ever needed from him. Watching his back, feeding him. Making sure he ate lots of protein after working out, remembering his tastes and dislikes, making his favorite foods when it was a special occasion or when Zoro was especially down. Sanji being Sanji was all he ever needed. It was the reason Zoro had fallen in love with him in the first place.

 

Dammit. He really had fallen head over heels for the cook, all on his own. Dammit, dammit, dammit.

 

Zoro shoved another forkful of meat into his mouth. He didn’t need to think about this bullshit! If Sanji wanted to whine and complain and feel bad, fine.

 

“Hey, idiot.” Sanji poked his cheek, and Zoro resisted the urge to slap his hand away. Sanji would never forgive him for accidentally injuring his hand if he used too much force. “You see? This is what I’m talking about. What are you straining your mossy brains over? You know it’s not good for you to think so hard, you could break something in there.”

 

Did he have to be so perceptive? Sure, it was nice when Zoro was moody or sullen about something he didn’t want to talk about, but this was the worst time! “I told you, it’s none of your business!”

 

“Fine, fine.” Sanji waved it off, and took another puff from his cigarette. He glanced away, out towards the sea, and Zoro felt a sharp _pang_.

 

Oh no.

 

Sanji was  _upset_ because Zoro wasn’t _sharing_ with him.

 

What the hell. Sanji wanted to know all of his secrets, and now he was playing underhanded tricks? “Cut that out,” Zoro snapped. Did that Mizuki woman give him ideas, or something? For all his condemnations of her actions, Sanji sure was quick to adopt them.

 

“Sorry.” At the very least, Sanji had the decency to be ashamed of his trickery. “It’s just--don’t you want to talk about it? That Witch? Her Wolf?” He gesticulated wildly, throwing his hands up in frustration. “You know-- _magic_?!”

 

Ah, there it was. This whole thing was about Sanji feeling bad.

 

Zoro snorted. “What’s there to talk about?”

 

“You don’t think--we could’ve gotten that Witch to lift the curse?” Sanji knew it was too much to hope for, but he asked anyway. “Or at the very least, I dunno, make it even?”

 

Zoro scowled at him. “Even?”

 

“It’s not fair! You have to feel every shitty thing I go through! But I can hardly ever tell when you’re struggling!” Sanji clenched his fists tightly. He continued in a softer voice. “I don’t--I don’t like the idea of _owning_ you. I hate that you’re saddled with all of my shit and I’m not even affected at all.”

 

Zoro rolled his eyes. A little emphasized for Sanji’s sake, but still his honest feelings. “Listen, curly brows. I’m only going to say this once, alright? But you’re the best fucking Witch a Wolf could ask for. You saw how that Witch treated her Wolf. You recognize that I’m a person. You try to keep your space. You regulate your feelings so it never overwhelms me. You don’t have to keep telling yourself that you need to do _more_.”

 

Sanji quietly absorbed the information. On some level he had always _known_ he was different than other Witches--especially that he was far removed from the _worst_ \--but Zoro so quickly lauding him as one of the _best_? It was overwhelming. Despite Zoro’s insistence otherwise, it didn’t feel like _enough_. The bar was set _so low_. Of course he leapt over it with flying colors, Wolves weren’t _allowed_ to be picky. “If you _could_ \--”

 

“Don’t,” Zoro cut him off brusquely. “Don’t think like that. The only way a pledge fades is if we die. I’m telling you I’m _fine_ , asshole, don’t stop trying to _fix_ everything! I’m not a kid! I don’t need _protecting_ , or whatever this is.”

 

“It’s _not_ ,” Sanji insisted. Because it _wasn’t_. He paused before he continued, on a different tack this time. “Not even..,to make it both ways?”

 

“Hell no.” Zoro scoffed. “I’d like to keep my feelings private, thanks.”

 

Ouch. An unintentional but harsh reminder that everything Sanji felt was being broadcast directly into Zoro’s brain. Here was _Zoro_ , the man who had been stubborn enough to figure out how to use _three swords_ to fight, telling him that something was impossible. Sanji liked to keep a tight harness on his feelings, as a matter of courtesy, but he couldn’t help but let his mood drop. If Zoro said it was impossible, then it _was_. He was going to be stuck dumping all his emotions on Zoro until the day he _died_.

 

Zoro let out a frustrated sigh. Shutting down this line of thinking was more crucial to himself than to Sanji--it helped nip sad moods like this in the bud. Sanji had spent so much time focusing on being the perfect Witch he hadn’t had the time to consider actually _breaking_ the curse, and now that Zoro was shooting it down Sanji felt the very _real_ disappointment that happened anytime _anyone_ went down this line of thought. He wrapped an arm around Sanji’s shoulders and yanked, making Sanji yelp in surprise.

 

Much better. Zoro grinned down at Sanji, feeling the glow of happiness spread through his stomach when Sanji was pulled against him into a hug. “Stop being so down,” he commanded. “You’re making it hard to eat.” He speared the remains of the steak on his fork and stuffed it in his mouth.

 

“All you _do_ is eat and sleep,” Sanji groused, but Zoro could feel the embarrassment rising inside him. He glanced down and was rewarded with a bright flush across Sanji’s cheeks.

 

Oh, things were about to get _good_ . How had Zoro never thought to try teasing him before? Feeling the warm blossoming of embarrassment and--well, _something_ nice--coupled with getting to see Sanji squirm? Perfection.

 

Sanji caught the devilish gleam in his eye. “What are you thinking?” he demanded. “What are you scheming?” He already _knew_ he wasn’t going to like it.

 

Zoro only smirked. This was going to be fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading everybody!! Unfortunately I'm almost out of pre-written chapters so after the next chapter updates are going to be much slower orz  
> Thanks for your patience and I hope I still continue to provide!


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